Cardroom
The Cardroom is the topmost level and primary public entrance of The Den, an elite and highly illegal vice district located within the Under of the flying city of New San Francisco. Catering exclusively to wealthy topsiders and Planners, it functions as a high-end gambling parlor and bar where the rich can indulge their vices away from the strict rules of the city above.
Geography and Environment
The cardroom is a loud, bustling space permanently filled with a thick haze of smoke from pipes, cigarettes, and synthcigars. Live music featuring guitars and drums plays constantly, helping to mask the sounds of movement from the metal rafters above, which underkid Crews frequently use to sneak through the room unseen.
The main floor is dominated by numerous poker and blackjack tables surrounded by wealthy patrons dressed in fine black suits and sumptuous, magically-transmuted red dresses. At the far end of the room sits a busy bar that serves incredibly rare and expensive topside liquor—such as synthrum, vodka, and real, non-transmuted bourbon—drinks that ordinary Under residents would never have the opportunity to taste.
Functionally, the cardroom serves as the gateway to the darker sections of the Den. Just past the bar is a small hatchway and a ladder that provide the primary access point down to the whiproom, the huntroom, and the chemroom below.
Key Events
Phoenix's Search for Eric
After being ousted from the killgirls and surviving her disastrous mission in the whiproom, Phoenix (Megan) sneaks back into the Den via the rafters to find Quynn (operating under the alias Eric). She observes him looking miserable at a blackjack table, assuming he is simply suffering a losing streak. After he wins a hand with blackjack, she waves to him from Rafter One, prompting him to leave the cardroom and meet her in one of the Den's secret sleeprooms.
The Empty Den
Later during the uprising against the Planners, Phoenix, Beam, and Dill use a sewer entrance to sneak into the Den. When they climb up through the edges of the facility, they find the usually bustling cardroom completely empty, reflecting the shifting power dynamics and chaos unfolding in the city.